An evaluation method for corrosion fatigue life of steel structure considering mechanical factors

Abstract

Steel structures in corrosive environment are often subjected to coupling effect and damage caused by corrosion and fatigue. This paper proposed a new assessment method to study corrosion fatigue life of steel structure, including the effect of cyclic loading and corrosion damage. Based on mechanical factors, the corrosion depth of structure under cyclic loading at different time intervals was defined by a mathematical model for corrosion damage. A finite element model was established to calculate structure damage. Finally, the cumulative damage could be obtained by Miner guidelines to assess the fatigue life. Comparing traditional methods, the coupling effect of corrosion and fatigue were taken into account by this new method. According to this new method, the results showed that the calculated corrosion rate was faster, and the corrosion fatigue life shorter. Corrosion fatigue could cause more damage to structure than was expected. Furthermore, this method was convenient and practical for assessing/estimating the corrosion fatigue life of normal steel structure

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